


Devil Arm Tails

by syfyravalkyrie



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Demon puppies, Found Family, Gen, Nero being a really good dad figure, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, Self-Indulgent, children with trauma, sappy people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-01-14 13:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syfyravalkyrie/pseuds/syfyravalkyrie
Summary: Agni and Rudra have always reminded Nero of eager puppies. Now he knows why.Aka the author needed to see Nero interacting with Dante’s Devil Arms and things snowballed from there.A series of slice of life oneshots centering on life in the Nero/Kyrie household of three adults, 2 (later 3) small children, two Devil Arms, and assorted aunts and uncles.





	1. Nero's Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nero asks a question, gets an unexpected answer, and ends the day with two new housemates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Tori10 for the Beta work!

Nero didn’t often find himself at the original Devil May Cry office, as he generally preferred to spend his time out hunting with Nico, or back home with Kyrie and the kids they looked after. But occasionally he’d get the urge to check in with the older hunter, though it would seem that this time his timing was off, as Dante was nowhere to be seen. The office was empty.

 

_At least this time the lights work._

 

But it wasn’t as if there weren’t plenty of things here for Nero to keep himself busy with while he waited. Hell, there was an entire room full of the many Devil Arms Dante had collected over the years after all; several of them were even willing and able to talk to a curious part devil; two of them, in particular, were especially helpful.

 

Nero really didn’t get just why Dante got so annoyed with Agni and Rudra, he did fine with the kids when he visited Fortuna, after all, and the kids could out ramble the twin swords any day of the week. At least the two brothers remembered their manners consistently. Some of the kids still had trouble remembering to say thank you on occasion.

 

Really the only problem Nero had with the brothers was their insistence on calling him “Nestling Nero” and even that was more of a mild annoyance than a real issue for him. For all that the brothers could be a bit simple-minded at times, they likely had _centuries_ on him; he _was_ a nestling in comparison. And it wasn’t as if they were using it maliciously.

 

As he made his way to Dante’s armory (he’d collected too many to just keep them all on the walls of the office by this point, so he rotated them out on occasion, but the majority stayed in a sealed off room in the basement), he considered what he wanted to talk to the Devil Arms about while he waited. If it wasn’t info on the best way to kill a demon, or how they fought, Dante didn’t really get into how demons worked when they talked (assuming, of course, that the old man actually cared to remember stuff like that if it wasn’t immediately necessary). So for the most part, Nero tended to save his questions for the demons he knew, namely Trish and the more talkative Devil Arms. Sure, he could probably just use Dante’s shockingly large library (yes the man did know how to read things other than adult magazines, he just felt he had an image to maintain), but he’d always learned better by listening and doing than by reading about shit.

 

As he opened the door he called out to the occupants, “Hey guys, long time no see.”

 

As always, Agni and Rudra responded immediately, with a loud, “Nestling Nero!”

 

“You have not visited in a while, has everything been alright?” Rudra, mother hen as always.

 

Nero huffed a laugh in response as he grabbed one of the folding chairs from the wall where Dante kept them and set up in front of the two blades.

 

“Yeah, everything’s been good, business just got really hectic like it always does this time of year.”

 

Alastor and Nevan both flash in greeting as he sat down backward on the chair, which he returned with a wave of his Devil Bringer before turning back to Agni and Rudra.

 

“You guys in the mood to answer some more questions while I wait for the old man to get back from whatever mission he’s on?”

 

It was Agni who replied. “Ooh, what would you like to know today?”

 

It took Nero a moment to figure out how he wanted to phrase his question, clawed arm propped on the backrest as his head rested in his palm.

 

“I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about how Devil Arms actually work. I mean I know that you guys can turn into weapons if you get defeated by a worthy opponent, but do you guys get stuck as weapons afterward or is there more to it?”

 

Rudra flashed for a moment, which he seemed to do whenever he was thinking about something.

 

“That, Nestling Nero, is an interesting question with a somewhat complicated answer. Most Devil Arms are… I believe the human phrase is, ‘what you see is what you get’?”

 

Nero nodded. Agni and Rudra were as curious about how humans work as Nero was about demons, and idiomatics were one of the places both brothers had trouble with.

 

“Ah, excellent! To continue, some Devil Arms, however, are not confined to a single form. As far as anyone we’ve ever met can tell, this is not dependent on power _exactly_ , but it is seen more often in the more powerful Devil Arms. For some, it simply means that their material form has two… modes, I suppose you could put it. Nevan being able to switch between a guitar and a scythe would be one such example.”

 

Nero nodded along with the explanation, following for the most part, when Agni decided to interject.

 

“Brother, brother enough talking, can we show him instead? I want to show him!” His voice was literally quivering in excitement and Nero imagined that if he had a tail it would be wagging a mile a minute at that point.

 

“Show me what exactly?” Nero was cautious; as much as he liked the two brothers, he wouldn’t put it past them to pull something that would cause some sort of mess he would end up having to clean up.

Rudra was silent for a moment, seeming to consider his brother’s request before he replied with a sigh, “I… don’t see why not? Just… don’t knock anyone or anything over brother? Please?”

 

“YES!”

 

At that, both blades glowed brighter for a moment, and Nero blinked several times to clear his vision from the strength of said light. When it did clear, however, his jaw dropped, for where before had rested two blades, now stood two demonic… well, they weren’t exactly dogs, but that was the best analogy his brain could come up with.

 

The two were larger, larger than any of the ‘normal’ dogs Nero had ever seen in person, as their head were level with his own as he sat, still gaping, in the chair before them. Where an actual dog would have had fur, they had scales, and their paws housed claws that were very obviously as sharp as their bladed forms edges. Agni had a mane of flames ‘round his head and Rudra had what looked like fur around his paws, though it was more likely some sort of concentrated wind, considering his abilities. They were heavily built, reminding Nero of mastiffs, making it readily apparent that these forms were just as deadly as the forms he was more familiar with, if not more so, if only for the fact that in this form they could act independently of _any_ wielder.

 

“Hoooooly shiiiit,” Nero blurted softly.

 

The two demonic … Nero was just gonna keep calling them hounds unless they corrected him, sat in place, seemingly serious, though Angi, true to form, quickly ruined that impression as his tail, which was clearly tipped in flame, began wagging furiously.

 

It was no wonder now that Agni, and to a slightly lesser extent Rudra, had always reminded Nero of eager puppies.

 

“See! See?! Aren’t we awesome?” Agni nearly yells.

 

“Shit, guys, that’s fucking wicked. But seriously, if you guys can do this, how come you’re always stuck as swords? I’d think even Dante would put up with the talking for some extra help keeping the shop free of demons.”

 

Angi laid down and covered his eyes with a paw as Rudra spoke, “Ah… well… My brother can be… rather clumsy at times. I believe Master Dante got tired of cleaning up the bookcases every week.”

 

Nero chuckled dryly. “Yeah, I guess that would do it. But really guys, doesn’t it get boring being stuck as swords all the time? I remember you saying that Dante doesn’t use you guys much anymore, and I never really see you out of this room since he moved most of you all into this room….” He tilts his head up for a moment, thinking. “Actually, theres an idea.”

 

He pulled his phone out and sent out a text, getting an almost immediate response, causing a grin to spread across his face.

 

Rudra tilted his head to the side, once again eerily reminiscent of an actual dog. “Nestling Nero?”

 

“Just had a thought but had to run it by Kyrie first. I figure, the three of us get along a lot better than the two of you and Dante do, and Kyrie’s getting worried about me taking on some of the bigger jobs without any backup, cause let's face it, Nico doesn’t count as back-up. And while I don’t need another blade, hell I don’t even know _how_ to dual-wield, you guys in this form definitely count as back-up. Kyrie’s on board, but that's up to you guys, assuming Dante would even be willing to let me take the two of you with me.”

 

Agni sat back up and focused on a point behind Nero’s shoulder just as a voice called out, “You know what, kid? I think that’s an _excellent_ idea.”  

 

Nero whirled out of his seat, Blue Rose in hand before the voice even registered in his head, at which point he scowled at the elder hunter and returned his gun to her holster.

 

“What the _fuck_ , old man? I could have just fucking Lady’d you! Its like you _enjoy_ getting shot in the head.”

 

Dante just threw his head back and cackled for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, kid, aren’t you the one with the fancy devil radar arm?”

 

“That doesn’t mean I always- You know what, _screw you_ old man.” He paused. “The hell do you mean, excellent idea?”

 

Agni and Rudra had flashed back into their blade forms when Dante had spoken but flashed curiously at Nero’s question.

 

“Exactly what I said, Kid. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great weapons, but like you said, we don’t get on that well. And you’re right, they’re really the only ones I don’t take out on a regular basis, and, as they have now reminded me, they are perfectly capable of fighting independently. Which means that even if you don’t take them out on missions with you, you can leave them with those kids of yours and your songbird for extra security.”

 

Nero tilted his head consideringly; that was a really good point honestly.

 

Agni cried out, “More nestlings? Oooh brother, tiny nestlings to play with? Can we go? I want to go!”

 

Rudra followed with, “We would be honored to go with Nestling Nero.”

 

“Then I guess that settles it, don’t it kid? Now that that’s sorted, I got a fresh pizza and some beer out in the office. You wanna join me, tell me what brings out my way this time?”

 

Nero nodded and collapsed the chair, replacing it against the wall, following Dante out of the room. He paused in the doorway and turned back to Agni and Rudra.

 

“I’ll come and grab you guys before I leave, though I’m warning you now, I only cleared bringing you guys back to Fortuna with me with Kyrie, so if you guys wanna play with the kids, you’re gonna have to make your case to her when we get there. I don’t have any say over that, so I’d suck up to her from the get go if I were you. Got it?”

 

“Of course!”

“Sure!”

 

“Cool. I’ll see you guys later then.”

 

“Farewell for now Nestling Nero!”

“BYE!”


	2. Meeting Kyrie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agni and Rudra meet Kyrie. Things go famously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Tori10 for the Beta work!

Kyrie hummed a nonsensical tune under her breath as she worked on the last of her pies for the day. This one was raspberry and lemon, Nero’s favorite. He’d called just an hour ago to let her know that he and Nico would be there around 9, so she had about fifteen minutes before she needed to start cleaning up, because even if all of the kids were in bed by now, inevitably, if Nero came home from a long mission and there was flour or sugar out, someone would start throwing it around and Kyrie very much did not feel like cleaning up a mess like that tonight, even if she could count on Nero to help.

 

Today’s return would be a bit different from normal, however, as Nero would be bringing a pair of Devil Arms home from Dante’s place in Capulet. He’d texted her about it just a few days ago after his latest mission ended with him and Nico just a few hours from Capulet and he’d decided to stop in to visit. He’d told her bits and pieces about the twin sword brothers, Agni and Rudra, but she had yet to actually meet them as she really didn’t have the time to make the two-day journey to Dante’s home. Besides, the man was more than capable of coming to visit on his own, which he did fairly frequently.

 

She placed the pie into the oven and set her timer before beginning the process of cleaning up the ingredients and tools. She’d just put the last of the mixing bowls up to dry when she heard the engine of Nico’s van come down the drive, hearing a door slam several seconds before the engine cut off, Nero having apparently not waited for Nico to stop the van before leaping out. 

 

“Kyrie! We’re back!” Nero’s stage whisper rang out. 

 

She laughed softly, wiping her now clean hands on a towel, before heading for the entryway to greet her goofball.

 

“Hey. Welcome back.”

 

Nero’s human hand reached out and caught her own, pulling her into a tight embrace, as his nose buried into her hair, as he always did when he’d been gone this long. She returned the hug just as fiercely; she’d missed his just as much as she always did, even if they  _ had _ been able to keep in touch better this time, Fortuna having finally gotten cell service just weeks before Nero had left on this latest mission.

 

This was usually the part where Nico would butt in good-naturedly with some ribbing about their ‘blatant displays of affection,’ but this time something new happened. A voice shed never heard before called out,

 

“OOH, look brother! Nestling Nero’s Kyrie is a  _ pretty _ lady. Look she’s so pretty!”

 

“Brother… I believe you may have just ruined a… I believe humans call it a moment.”

 

Nero’s shoulders drooped in mock defeat, then began to shake with poorly contained laughter.

“You got that right, Agni. Kyrie is a  _ very  _ pretty lady, and she shouldn’t ever forget it. And don’t worry about it Rudra, if Agni hadn’t interrupted, it would have been Nico, and I gotta say, I prefer Agni’s interruption to whatever Nico would have come up with.”

 

Kyrie reddened slightly at the unexpected compliment and looked around in confusion for whomever the two voices belonged to. With a rueful grin, Nero pulled away from her and pulled two blades from his belt, one red and one blue. He held up first the red one, “Babe, these are Agni,” and then the blue, “And Rudra. They’re the ones I told you about in the text. If you two want, you can switch forms, but Agni? Try to be quiet; the kids are all asleep by now and I’d rather not try to introduce the two of you to a bunch of groggy, yet somehow very hyper, children. Kyrie, they’re not gonna hurt anybody, but they are about to get really big.”

 

“We could be a bit smaller than before if that would help, Nestling Nero?”

 

“Yeah, it would, thanks Rudra.”

 

In a flash of light, the two blades Nero held disappeared, and a pair of large, …. Well Kyrie was just gonna go with dogs, appeared on either side of her boyfriend. And if this was a bit smaller than normal, well, Kyrie wasn’t sure she wanted to know what their normal size was, as they came up to Nero’s waist. She soon got the answer though.

 

“Huh. This _ is  _ smaller. They weree nearly mid-chest on me last time they did this. Oh Cr-ud, I forgot to ask. Agni, can you turn the fire off or make sure it can’t burn anything? The last thing we want is one of the kids going to hug you or something and getting burned.”

 

“Oh, that would be very bad. I don’t want to hurt any nestlings! I’ll turn it off.” And suddenly the mane of fire on the red hound, on Agni, turned into flame-colored fur.

 

Kyrie giggled at Agni’s words, the ...hound was just ad Nero had described him, excitable, but very sweet, though that last part was something she’d inferred rather than something Nero had said outright. 

 

“Hello you two, Nore’s told me a lot about the both of you and its very nice to finally meet you. I’m Kyrie.”

 

“I’m Agni, pretty lady!”

 

“I am Rudra, it is an honor to meet Nestling Nero’s mate. Thank you for allowing us into your home.”

 

Nero’s ears went a deep red in response to Rudra’s words.

 

“Rudra! I told you, humans don't use that word!”

 

Kyrie laughed quietly, enjoying her boyfriend’s embarrassment, but still trying not to make enough noise to wake any of the children. 

 

“I get the feeling that the kids’ are all going to love the two of you, but I think we’ll hold off on that until tomorrow. In the meantime-”

 

The sound of an egg timer drifts into the entryway from the Kitchen.

 

“Oh wow, that was excellent timing, that should be the pie done, and I’ve got sandwiches for you and Nico in the fridge from dinner earlier… Where is Nico anyway? Usually. She comes in right behind you.”

 

“She said she wanted to get some ideas down on paper while they were still in her head. But its been long enough that she’s probably got the basic ideas down. I’ll go down and get her. Agni, Rudra. Keep Kyrie company for me?”

 

“OK!”

 

“It would be an honor.”

 

Nero headed for the door to the Garage/Workshop to fetch the wayward inventor, and Kyrie turned to the brothers.

 

“Well, while he’s doing that, I have some questions of my own for the two of you. I confess I don’t know much about Devils and Demons but do the two of you need to eat in this form?  _ Can _ you eat? I ask because the kids  _ will _ definitely try to feed the two of you if we don’t lay down some ground rules ahead of time and I wouldn’t want the two of you to have to do something that would be bad for you in the long run just to make one of the kids happy.”

 

The two hounds followed her into the kitchen as  Rudra replied.

 

“We do not…  _ need _ to eat to be precise, but we certainly can consume what humans would consider food. It has also been several centuries since we have been out in the human world, so we are more familiar with the food of that period. We have not yet had a chance to try… I believe that the correct term is… Junk food, Miss Kyrie?”

 

Kyrie pulled the pie out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool as she nodded. “It is.”

 

Agni immediately interrupted. “I want to try Junk Food!”

 

“Brother…”

 

“We used to eat meat all the time, Rudra! I want to try something new!”

 

“Yes, but remember what Nestling Nero said. There are sleeping nestlings in this home and we are not to wake them. You  _ must _ lower your voice Agni.”

 

Agni’s body language became immediately remorseful, his ears plastered against his head and his tail curling down and in.

 

“Oh. I forgot. I’m sorry Miss Kyrie,” he whispered.

 

Kyrie smiled fondly, the brothers’ exchange reminded her of several of the children.

 

“Its alright, Agni, there’s no harm done. I am afraid, though, that since Nero and Nico have been out on a mission for the last few weeks, there isn’t any junk food in the house right now. They’re the only ones who buy it regularly, but if the two of you are willing to wait until next market day, I can take you two with me and you can choose some things you’d like to try out then. Unfortunately, you just missed this weeks. On the subject of meat, though, do you prefer cooked or raw?”

 

Agni replied, more subdued than before, “I’ve never had cooked meat before. What’s it taste like?”

 

“As we don’t really have humanoid forms, we’ve never had the occasion or ability to cook meat. Also, as human food does not truly sustain us as human souls or demonic energy does, human food is something we consumed for the taste rather than any sort of nutrition. And as we told Nestling Nero earlier, this island houses an  _ immense _ amount of demonic energy.”   
  
“We’re not gonna starve on this island any time soon.”

 

Now that the pie was cooling on the counter, Kyrie removed the oven mitt she’d donned and moved to the fridge to remove the sandwiches she’d placed there. Once they were on the counter, she went back for a large Tupperware container filled with pork chops. 

 

“Well then, why don’t we find out? I have some leftover pork chops from dinner last night, I can heat it back up and you can try some.”

 

Both brothers responded positively as Nero entered the kitchen with an ink-stained Nico in tow. Nico was exhibiting all of her normal ‘ stuck-in-inventing-mode’ behaviors and didn’t even really acknowledge Kyrie or the two demonic hounds at her sides and just went straight for the sandwiches, grabbing three and turning tail right back into the garage with her armful of culinary spoils. Nero, on the other hand, sidled up behind his girlfriend and wrapped his clawed hand around her middle, pressing a kiss to the back of her head in silent greeting.

 

“Hello again. Zombie inventor fetched and hopefully fed, as promised. They behaved themselves for you?”

 

“They’ve been perfectly well behaved, Nero. We were just about to find out if they like cooked meat or if they’d prefer to have it raw. Agni also wanted to try junk food, but that’s going to have to wait until either market day, or you or Nico decides to go get some. Now, go eat.” She shooed him off toward the table, moving with the pork chops to the microwave, peeling back the lid so that the container can vent before placing it inside to heat up. 

 

Agni followed Nero to the table, deciding to lie down and lean against the part-devil’s leg. Nero rewarded this with a scratch between the ears, which made Agni’s tail thump on the floor slightly. Rudra stayed at Kyrie’s side and received an absent-minded pat to the head in return.

 

Once the microwave had gone off, Kyrie plated several on two plates and placed them on the seats of two chairs, so that Agni and Rudra wouldn’t have to strain their necks in order to eat. The brothers dove in eagerly.

 

Kyrie sat down across the table from Nero and grabbed half a sandwich for herself as Nero mock growled at her for her sudden yet inevitable sandwich theft.

 

Judging from the appreciative noises that the two brothers made as they ate, Kyrie figured that the pork chops, at the very least, had gone over well, a suspicion which was confirmed only moments later when Rudra made his way back over to her and nudged his head into her lap.

 

“That was very good, thank you, Miss Kyrie. I, for one, would not mind trying more cooked meats. Do they always taste like that?”

 

“It was  _ really really  _ good!” Agni whispered excitedly. “A lot better than raw meat, though I wasn’t expecting it to be so much harder to chew.”

 

Nero butted in, “Of course it was good, Kyrie’s the best cook on the entire island.”

 

She reached out and smacked his hand lightly. “I am  _ not. _ ”

 

Nero only reached for another sandwich before grinning devilishly. “ Best voice, best food, nicest, prettiest,  _ kindest _ , Kyrie,  _ you _ are the best person in all of Fortuna, bar none, and I will never stop saying it.”

 

This time it was Kyrie’s turn to blush, red spreading across her cheeks and enveloping her ears as she lowered her head, a small smile on her lips, both pleased and embarrassed at Nero’s words.

 

“You are impossible.”

 

“You love me anyway.”

 

“True.”

 

Kyrie turned to look at Rudra. “There are lots of different ways to cook meat, and lots of different kinds of meats as well. That was only one of them. Since you’re sticking around, I imagine that you’ll both get to try a whole lot more while you’re here. And if we ever exhaust the ways I already know how to cook it, well, I’ll just have to learn more.”

 

“ _ Excellent _ ,” Agni crowed softly. Rudra simply huffed and rubbed his head against Kyrie’s leg.

 

“Well, it looks like I was right about the three of you getting along, though we’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see how the kids take to you. From the looks of it though? I think you two are going to fit right in here. For now, though, I think its time for pie and then bed. … Which brings up the question of where the two of you want to spend the night for now. You two wanna switch back and spend the night in the garage with Nico and her babies, or you wanna stay like this, and spend the night out here? Its up to the two of you.”

 

Agni perked up from where sat at Nero’s side and looked over to his brother, who shrugged.

 

“Perhaps… Whichever option is less likely to get us woken up by eager nestlings too early?” is Rudra’s response. 

 

“Yeah. I remember nestlings. Always eager to crawl all over people when all they wanna do is sleep.”

 

Nero laughed at the two statements. “Yeah, the brats get pretty hyper first thing in the morning. Garage it is then.”

 

“And tomorrow, we can see about finding you two a couple of beds for the living room.” Kyrie’s tome was light but firm. She would not have anyone uncomfortable in her home.

 

The brothers grinned in true dog fashion and then flashed back to their bladed forms, Nero grabbing them and returning them to his belt for the moment before grabbing the slice of pie Kyrie held out to him.

 

Once both had finished their pie, Nero grabbed both plates and rinsed them off before placing them on the rack to dry. “I’ll get them set up in the garage and check on Nico and then I’ll meet you upstairs, okay?”

 

Kyrie nodded and headed up to their shared bedroom while Nero returned to the Garage door and Nico’s domain. He found said inventor slumped, asleep, over a pile of plans, sandwiches demolished, their former existence evidenced only by the small smear of mustard on the woman’s lip. He grinned ruefully before levering his friend up off the stool and moving her over to her couch; she’d thank him for it in the morning. Trying to get her all the way to her own room would have been a lost cause with her this tired.

 

Once he had her covered with the heavy quilt kept in the garage for just that purpose, he moved over to the weapon wall.

 

“You guys good with staying here for the night?”

 

“Yup!”

“This will do fine for the night Nestling Nero.”

 

Nero nodded and hung the two up on a set of empty pegs.

 

“Then I’ll either see you two when Nico wakes up or after the kids have all had breakfast tomorrow, whichever comes first. Then we can get you two introduced to everyone. Night Agni, Rudra.”

 

“Night Night.”

“Good Night.”

 


	3. Agni and Rudra meet the kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agni and Rudra finally get to meet the kids. But there are some things that they need to know about first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ascerain for the Beta work.

It was the sun shining brightly through the curtains that woke Nero up the next morning. A quick glance at the clock on Kyrie’s side of the bed told him that it was just before 6:30. Kyrie herself was still asleep, one leg thrown across his own and her head resting on his human shoulder. He shifted to face her, enjoying the fact that for once, he had woken before her.

 

Unfortunately, that moment of peace was soon shattered by the blare of the alarm clock. Kyrie groaned and shifted, reaching around for the clock and ending the disruptive noise. She smiled at Nero blearily, before pressing a kiss to his lips with a murmured, “Good Morning.”

 

Nero grinned into the kiss before pulling away to grab his shirt off the bedside table. “Good morning to you too, Beautiful.”

 

What followed was their normal morning routine, which, as he always did when he was home, ended with Nero taking Kyrie’s drying brush to her hair for her. Afterwards, both headed down the stairs to get breakfast started before the two kids and Nico woke up. 

 

Nero had just gotten the coffee started when Nico made her appearance from the garage, clutching the blanket Nero had covered her with the night before around her shoulders. She brushed past Nero with a mumbled, “Morning Gorgeous,” that Nero responded to with a clawed hand to his chest and a dramatic mock gasp.

 

“Nico! I had no idea you felt that way.”

 

“Shut up, hunter boy. Wasn’t talking to you, I was talking about yer girlfriend. You, pretty? That’ll be the day.”

 

Kyrie stifled a giggle at the exchange. She’d missed the morning banter that came with having the other two back in the house. Nero, on the other hand, paused and then turned to grin at Kyrie. 

 

“You know what? That’s fair.”

 

By this point, the pot had filled with what Nico considered to be the drink of the gods. She filled her mug, a black one with a silver gear motif, and then made her way over to the kitchen’s window seat. Kyrie, though, had been busy, with occasional help from Nero (as good a cook as Kyrie was, the general consensus was that Nero made better bacon), whipping up enough pancakes and eggs for 2 growing children and three adults, one of whom ate enough to feed a fourth person.

 

Once Nico had finished her first cup of coffee for the day, she moved to take over the eggs for Kyrie. “I’ve got these, Sugar, you focus on those absolutely  _ delicious _ pancakes.”

 

Nero had finished the bacon by this point, which meant it was his job to wake up the kids this morning. Their rooms were on the ground floor, past the door to the garage where Agni and Rudra had spent the night, and so he popped in on them first. 

 

“Morning guys. Give us a bit to get the kids fed and explain some stuff and we’ll hopefully get you two introduced, though in the end it’s up to the kids” 

 

Rudra’s blade flashes in response, but there is none from Agni.

 

“Hey Rudra, might wanna wake up your brother. There’s some baseline shit I need to fill you two in on about the kids before we introduce you to them. Would have told you guys before we got here, but I didn’t wanna get into it before I knew Kyrie was cool with you staying.”

 

“Of course. We will both be awake when you return.”

 

“See you in about an hour then.”

 

With that taken care of, he moved further down the hallway to the boys’ rooms, reaching Julio’s first. Julio was the oldest and currently completely obsessed with beetles, the walls of his room reflecting that. In fact, the last night Nero had been home, the kid had managed to sit still through an entire, hour-long documentary on the subject. It had been an achievement for Julio, as it took a lot for anything on the tv to hold his attention. Julio preferred the old beat up handheld gaming system he’d gotten for good grades at the end of the last school year or reading a new comic to television most days. 

 

Opening the door, Nero made his way to the bed that was set against one wall, tossing a hoodie into the hamper that hadn’t made it there the night before on the way. He shook the bed a bit.

 

“Hey kiddo, time to get up. Kyrie’s got breakfast ready. Pretty sure I saw some blueberries go into that batter.”

 

This was exactly the right thing to say to get the eight-year-old out of bed, as his eyes shot open and he began scrambling around the room getting dressed. Nero chuckled at the sight and was about to leave the room when Julio finally registered exactly who had come in to wake him this time. He tackled the hunter’s leg and stayed there for several seconds, Nero’s hand coming to rest in the boy’s brown hair before he mumbled a quick, “Welcome home,” and then continued his mad scramble to get dressed. Julio would have his blueberry pancakes and there was nothing that could stand in his way (unless it was Kyrie).

 

Now that he had the oldest brat on his way, Nero made his way to the last door in the hallway, Kyle’s. Kyle was always the easiest to wake; for all that the kid didn’t talk much he was observant as hell and a light sleeper to boot. It was rare that someone came to wake him to find him still asleep. Hell, both of the kids were more observant of their surroundings than most kids would be, but considering what the two had been through, it was understandable. They may have only been toddlers when the whole savior clusterfuck had happened, but trauma spared no one, not even those too young to understand. 

 

Kyle didn’t like waking up to people standing above him, but sometimes, like today, he slept so deep that he didn’t notice Nero coming down the hall. So when Nero stopped in the doorway and the little boy wasn’t already sitting up in bed to greet him, he reached over and flipped the switch that would make Kyle’s pillow vibrate. It had been one of the first things that Nico had built for the house when she first moved in 8 months ago, and it had probably prevented a number of frights for the 4-year-old. 

 

The little boy sat up almost immediately after the switch was flipped, his green eyes blinking sluggishly. Nero moved over to pick him up, stopping short as always to let Kyle decide if he wanted to be picked up and carried or not. Today turned out to be one of the ‘not’ days, and so Nero obligingly moved out of the way so that Kyle could climb out of bed himself, instead moving over to the blue dresser against the opposite wall and pulling out two outfits for Kyle to choose from, one with a green shirt and the other with a pink shirt. He held them up for Kyle to see and the pink shirt was immediately chosen.

 

Kyle dressed himself, as he had been doing for months now, and once finished, tugged on Nero’s pant leg in what had come to be known as ‘I’d like to be picked up now, please.’ Nero did as he was asked, and carried Kyle all the way to the kitchen, where the little boy was placed in his booster seat.

 

Breakfast was a free-for-all in this house, so everyone else had already started eating when the two arrived. Breakfast went as usual, at least until Nero left earlier than normal in order to go speak to Agni and Rudra, telling the kids he had something to talk to them about later, but that right now he had to go talk to some people. 

 

“Agni, Rudra, you two awake?” Nero called from the garage doorway.

 

“Yup!”

“Indeed.”

 

As Nero descended the stairs into the garage, he was met with the brothers already in their secondary forms waiting for him. He moved to sit on the couch he’d laid Nico out on the night before and motioned for them to join him. They both moved to sit attentively in front of him.

 

“Alright. I know I’ve told you both about the absolute clusterfuck that was the Savior incident three years ago.” When he received a nod from both he continued, “We’ve got two kids living here, Julio and Kyle. Both are orphans due to that. Both of them carry scars from it, and none of those scars are physical. That doesn’t make them broken or damaged and it  _ certainly _ doesn’t make them less in  _ any way _ .” The last part was spoken with a bite that the Demon brothers could almost  _ feel _ . 

 

Nero stopped and took a deep breath, calming himself. 

 

“Sorry. It’s… You’d be surprised at how shitty people can be even when they all went through the exact same awful  _ shit _ .”

 

“Master Dante has long said that he often finds humans to be far more evil than demons and devils.”

 

Nero chuckled darkly. “He’s not wrong, Rudra.”

 

“You wanna…. What do we need to know so we don’t hurt the nestlings on accident?”

 

Nero paused. Then he huffed a laugh. He hadn’t expected one of the brothers figure out the point of the conversation that quickly. And while he was surprised that it was Agni who asked the question rather than Rudra, on second thought, he realized he really shouldn’t have been. The brothers might not know everything about humans, but neither of them was stupid by any stretch of the imagination; they just excelled at different things. He took a deep breath and began. 

 

“I can’t tell you the specifics of what happened to either of them; they aren’t my stories to tell without the boys giving me the go ahead. But I can tell you what to expect and what you can do to help us help them.”

 

“Kyle, the youngest, he doesn’t talk much. Nothing is physically wrong with him, he just… doesn’t talk. Well, I should clarify that. He doesn’t speak out loud; he’s perfectly capable of communicating. We’ve all been teaching ourselves and both of the kids sign language so he can express himself better, but even if you don’t know it, he’s pretty good at making himself understood. If they both take to you, we’ll get you start… actually, I’m probably gonna teach you both sign language even if the kids don’t end up taking to you.”

 

Agni butted in here. “Sign language?”

 

“It’s another human language, though instead of using spoken word, it involves hand gestures and body language. It’d be useful as hell in loud fights even if it would only be one way communication since the two of you don’t really have hands.

 

“ Anyway, Kyle will either take to you both immediately, or he’ll shy away. We never really know beforehand which it’ll be. But if he decides he’s gonna be shy and hides, for the love of all things good in this world,  _ please _ don’t try to follow him. That’s gonna be the big thing with both the boys, you have to let them come to you, no forcing the issue. Last thing on Kyle for now? If you see him gnawing on himself, let one of us know, Kyrie, Nico, me, doesn’t matter, just get one of us. He’s been known to draw blood if he gets going.”

 

Nero was grateful to see that both Devil Arms were listening to him intently. This was a serious topic and they were treating it that way.

“Julio’s the oldest. If you feel like getting your ears talked off, ask him about beetles. He has panic attacks. Demons can be one of his triggers, which means that Julio is the one most likely to react badly to you two being here, even if I have told them about you before. If he does end up having a panic attack when we bring you guys up, you may end up only meeting Kyle today, because I’m sure as hell not gonna force him to do anything he doesn’t  want to do without a damn good reason, and meeting the two of you doesn’t count.”

 

“What is a… panic attack?”

 

“Basically, certain things will trigger an ‘abnormal’ fear response in him. Something will startle him, or a bad memory will pop up, and instead of having a quote-unquote ‘normal’ reaction, his brain just goes haywire trying to deal with it.”

 

“Haywire?”

“What does that mean?”

 

“He kinda…. Overreacts? Like, say Julio and I both get startled by something. I might jump, but once I’ve figured out what caused it, I’d settle down and move on with the day. But Julio might start imagining worse and worse scenarios for what might have caused the noise until suddenly all he can think of is that there’s a monster coming to get him even though all it was was a branch hitting his window. He might have even figured out that it’s just a branch knocking against his window, but his mind just won’t stop imagining. And it isn’t all just in his head either. There are physical symptoms to panic attacks too.”

 

Rudra piped up, “What should we look for?”

 

“The first thing we normally notice if we aren’t looking at him when it happens is his breathing. He’ll start taking shorter and shorter breaths, till he’s all but gasping for air. And if we miss that, the crying tips us off pretty quickly. But what usually starts first is he’ll curl up on himself. It doesn’t always mean he’s about to have an attack, but if we see it happen we know immediately he’s not entirely comfortable with whatever is going on. He might also start scratching himself, usually on one of his arms or if he’s sitting down, his legs.

 

“But I wanna make sure you guys are very clear on this part. Do not,  _ under any circumstances _ , try to help him with a panic attack on your own. Not right now, you’d just end up making it worse. You see him have a panic attack, you get Kyrie, Nico or me  _ immediately _ . Understood?”

 

The brothers’ responses were firm; they understood. 

 

With the brothers as prepared as Nero could make them, he once again reminded them that he could not guarantee that the boys would even agree to meet them and left the garage, heading for the kitchen to let the boys know what was going on. 

 

The boys looked up at him curiously as he sat back down at the table.

 

“Okay. So...First things first, you two remember the last time Dante came over? How one of his weapons started talking back to him when he called it useless?”

 

“Yeah, I...That was… It was really weird…”

 

Kyle just stuck his knuckle in his mouth and nodded, though Nico was quick to pull the finger out and replace it with a stim pendant. 

 

“You said… It was some kind of Devil… Thing?”

 

“Devil Arms, yeah. And you remember that we told you they weren’t a threat to either of you? I need you both to keep that in mind. No matter what, I’m never going to bring anything home I thought for a second would be a danger to  _ any  _ of you. Okay?”   
  


Kyle nodded immediately, but it seemed that Julio was starting to connect the dots.

 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve told both of you about Agni and Rudra before, right? How they’re basically just overgrown puppies? Well, they and Dante don’t get along very well, so he let me take them with me when I visited him a couple of days ago.”

 

Julio immediately stiffened, which did not escape the notice of any of the adults; Kyrie immediately pulled the boy into her lap and hugged him tightly. 

 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” she told him softly. “I’ve already met them and they’re both very sweet people. Like Nero said, none of us would let anyone we thought was a danger to you two stay in this house.”

 

“But they’re..”

 

“Agni and Rudra wouldn’t hurt anyone here, munchkin. They’re just a pair of silly dorks. Spent the entire ride here with the same look on their faces you had when we took you to that insect exhibit couple months ago,” Nico assured him.   
  


Nero followed with, “They’ve already agreed to let you meet them on your terms. It doesn’t have to be today and it doesn’t even have to be at all.”

 

“But if they’re weapons, why would we even need to meet them? What use would we have for them?”

 

Kyle bounced in agreement, his hands repeatedly flashing the sign for ‘WHY?’

 

“Because they aren’t always swords. Some Devil Arms, like Agni and Rudra, have secondary forms. Theirs are basically really big, armor-plated dogs. If the four of you end up getting along, then they’re gonna be sticking around when I’m not here to help keep all of you safe for me.”

 

Kyle began to wave and when everyone was looking at him, signed ‘IF NO?’

 

“If you don’t, then they come with me on missions and stay in the garage otherwise since you two aren’t allowed down there anyway. There is no pressure here guys, it’s your decision, and we’re not gonna force the issue.”

 

Julio went quiet, taking a while to think about it, but Kyle immediately began signing eager questions.

 

“DOGGIES?”

“BIG?”

“PLAY WITH ME?”

 

Kyrie and Nico both laughed at the eager signing, while Nero just grinned.

 

“They are pretty big,” he replied, as he indicated just how large the two hounds could be, “but they’re both pretty good about not bumping into things, though Agni might accidentally hit you with his tail if he’s too excited, so keep an eye out for that. And yeah, they’ll play with you if you want. Agni was actually pretty excited about that. Rudra might have been too, but he’s a little harder to read. I think they like kids, though don’t be surprised if they call you nestling.”

 

“Nestling? Why would they call us that?” Julio asked incredulously.

 

“I guess that’s just what demons call kids?”

 

Nico whispered to Kyrie under her breath, “If that’s the case, why do they call hunter boy Nestling?”

 

Kyrie barely masked an incredulous giggle, while Nero glared daggers at Nico, not that it really mattered. The brothers had already referred to him as such last night.

 

Julio hesitated a moment longer before finally speaking up. “I… guess it couldn’t hurt… You’re sure they’re safe?”

 

Nero smiled, but his response was entirely serious.

 

“If in spite of everything, Agni and Rudra turn out to be a threat, I will  _ destroy them myself _ . But I promise you; that’s not gonna happen.”

 

“And I don’t have to like them?”

 

“Nope. If you go and meet them, you can change your mind and leave any time you want.  _ It is entirely up to the both of you _ .”

“...Okay.”

 

Kyle was already bouncing eagerly by the time Julio made his decision, causing Nico and Kyrie to grin.

 

“Alrighty then!” Nico interjected. “One last thing to figure out. You two rascals wanna do this in here, or ya wanna go out to the living room?”

 

Both boys agreed on the living room and so Nero headed out to the garage to grab the two hounds. 

 

“Alright, guys. Showtime. Remember what we talked about, you let them come to you, and try not to make any sudden movements.”

 

Both brothers nodded and padded up the stairs after the hunter, heading into the living room before the kids so that Nero could place them against the back wall. That way, if either of the kids decided they wanted out, they would be able to do so freely, with nothing in their way. Once he had Agni and Rudra settled, Blue Rose sitting in his lap with a demonic hound on both sides, he texted Kyrie that it was safe to bring the kids in. 

 

Kyle, excited little bugger that he was, nearly barreled into the room, only stopping when he got a good enough look for the hounds’ size to register. Julio, on the other hand, hovered in the doorway, still understandably nervous.

 

Kyrie waited behind Julio in silent support, while Nico hovered a couple of feet behind Kyle, mostly so she could catch him if he decided to trip over his own feet.

 

“Nero, you’re… you’re really sure about this?” Julio asked one more time.

 

But it wasn’t Nero who answered the nervous boy. It was Rudra, who lowered himself from a sitting position to his belly, hoping to make himself as non-threatening as possible. With a ‘WHACK’ of his tail, Agni followed suit. 

 

“You have no need to fear us, little nestling. We were brought here to help protect those living in this house. We would not betray the trust Nestling Nero has shown us in such a way.”

 

Agni only nodded emphatically, most of his attention on watching Kyle inch slowly closer to him. The 4-year-old wasn’t as excited as he’d been when he entered the room, but he pushed forward nevertheless, though it was impossible to tell if it was his curiosity or his stubbornness that drove him forward. 

 

About the time that Kyle reached Agni and decided that it was an absolutely  _ fantastic _ idea to climb onto his back, which Agni was clearly over the moon about, Julio decided to enter the room.

 

Nero watched with one eye on each of the boys, though he focused most of his attention on Julio once Kyle reached Agni. Nico could pull the toddler away if something went wrong, and even if Kyle fell from Agni’s back, it wasn’t a height he’d get hurt at. Julio inched across the room even more slowly than Kyle had, but eventually, he made it over. Nero watched as the 8-year-old reached out slowly, hesitating several times, and pulling back several more, before he finally thrust his hand out to land on Rudra’s head, the blue hound sitting still and patient the entire time.

 

When his hand finally made contact with Rudra’s head, Julio was surprised to notice that the scales under his hand were slightly cool to his touch, and there was a faint breeze across his hand from Rudra’s windy mane.

 

“Huh.”

 

“You see? We will not hurt you on purpose little nestling, though I ask your forgiveness in advance should my brother accidentally hit you with his tail. It has been some time since we could stay in these forms regularly, after all.”

 

Rudra’s words were only underlined by the fact that when Julio looked over to his little foster brother, he found the four-year-old sitting on the floor giggling, as Agni licked his hands and allowed the young child to crawl all over him, even though several of the places Kyle’s hands and feet landed must have been uncomfortable at the very least.

 

And so, with a final glance up at Nero, and then back at Kyrie, both of whom gave him encouraging nods, Julio sat down next to Rudra and began, slowly, hesitantly, to ask the demon questions, all of which Rudra answered to the very best of his knowledge. Kyle would butt in occasionally with his own questions, Julio translating for him, and before either of the boys really noticed, hours had passed. 

 

By the time Kyrie left the room to start on lunch, Kyle had tired himself out with Agni’s eager help and had decided that the red brother’s back was the perfect place to take a nap, his soft snores filling the room. Julio, finally comfortable with the brothers’ presence, was sitting on the floor against Rudra’s side, a large, illustrated encyclopedia of beetles propped open on his lap. Nico had left hours ago, returning to the garage and the designs she had fallen asleep on top of the night before. 

 

Nero smiled to himself as he looked at the scene before him over the edge of the hunter’s tome he’d pulled out, Blue Rose long returned to her holster. All in all, he’d consider today to be a resounding success. 

  
  
  



	4. Julio's Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julio has a bad day, makes a big decision, and Rudra gets to hear about Tortoise beetles.
> 
> There's also grilled cheese. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to soot for beta'ing this chapter.

Julio was having a bad day. No, scratch that. Julio was having a Bad Day. Nothing had happened that would make it one, but here he was anyway. 

 

He’d felt off the moment he’d woken up that morning, suddenly and with a gasp. Maybe he’d had a nightmare that he just couldn’t remember? It would have explained why he’d spent the whole day at a low but constant level of anxiety. 

 

The longer the feeling stayed, the more sure he was that he was probably having one of his longer panic attacks, the ones that crept up on him with no warning and could stick around for hours on end. He also knew that these panic attacks could always get worse without any warning whatsoever. He should really tell someone, it wasn’t a good idea to be alone when he was having a panic attack, but Nico was the only adult home right now, with Nero and Kyrie shopping on the mainland for the day.

 

That wasn’t to say that Julio didn’t like Nico; he really did. In fact, he thought that Nico was awesome. What Nico wasn’t, though, was great at handling panicking kids on her own. She’d have done her absolute best, but Julio knew that listening to her ramble in an attempt to distract him from his anxiety wasn’t going to work this time.  

 

He did have another option, though he wasn’t sure how well this one would work either, considering they were even less experienced with panic and anxiety attacks than Nico was. The newest additions to the house, Agni and Rudra, were also home since Nero was just going shopping and hadn’t seen any reason to take them with him. They were… Julio hadn’t been sure about them when they’d first arrived, but they’d grown on him in the couple of months that they’d lived together.

 

Agni was most definitely with Kyle right now, as his foster brother had decided almost immediately that the red brother was his favorite. These days, the two were only apart when Nero took the brothers off on missions with him. It had gotten to the point that Kyrie had had to make a rule about making Kyle walk on his own since the four-year-old had decided that he’d much rather ride Agni around everywhere. But Rudra… Rudra was usually in the tiny library upstairs, in front of the bay window that had apparently been a gift from Kyrie’s dad to her mom when he’d built the place. And Rudra… Rudra was quiet. Julio wanted quiet right now, but he also very much did  _ not _ want to be alone right now. So his decision was made.

 

He grabbed a book on his way out of his room, a new one that Kyrie had found on Tortoise Beetles that he hadn’t gotten the chance to open up yet with all the stupid homework he’d had to do this week. He stopped for a moment in the doorway, though, and on second thought, grabbed his handheld too and shoved it into the pocket of his hoodie.

 

As he walked down the hallway towards the stairs, he could hear Nico talking in the garage through the open door, her voice frustrated. He knew that she’d been working on something for Agni and Rudra the last couple of weeks now, but he guessed that she had run into a dead end on something. When he reached the garage door, he popped his head in and called down to her.

 

“Hey, Nico! If you need me, I’m heading up to the library!”

 

“Alrighty, Munchkin! Oh! Kyrie and Hunter Boy are gonna be late getting back; they missed the ferry they were shooting for so they have to wait for the last of the day. Does grilled cheese and soup sound good for dinner?”

 

“Yeah! That sounds great! OOH! Can we make them with the mayo instead of butter? I like those better. And Kyle’s gonna wanna put ham in them.”

 

Julio may have loved Kyrie’s cooking, as fancy as it was sometimes, but in the year that Nico had lived with them, everyone had fallen in love with the “Goldstein Family Secret Grilled Cheese Recipe.” (Not that it was really much of a secret. It was just mayo instead of butter and garlic and onion powder sprinkled on top.) 

 

“HA! Sure we can, Darlin’ Have fun up in the books!”

 

“I will!”

 

With that, Julio continued on towards the stairs.

  
  


Rudra liked the little library in his new home, for all that he couldn’t really read the books within; his paws weren’t really designed with turning pages in mind. Small though it was, it was far from cramped, the bookshelves standing against the walls, save for the section taken up by the bay window which faced the forest behind the house. It was a tranquil place, an attribute that Rudra appreciated immensely after his long years living with Dante. 

 

He’d just decided that it was time to leave the room to check on his brother and the Nestlings when he heard Julio’s raised voice and then Miss Nico’s in response. Evidently, the older of the Nestlings was on his way up. He debated leaving the room anyway, but something had seemed just the slightest bit off about the boy’s voice. Concerned, he decided he would stay for now and leave if Julio asked him to.

 

He knew something was definitely wrong when the boy made it up the stairs and he could finally pick out his heartbeat. It was racing. Not dangerously so, but definitely faster than a simple climb up the stairs could have warranted. The Devil Arm had his suspicions, which were immediately confirmed when Julio arrived and paused in the doorway. Two months ago, when he and Agni had first arrived, he might have mistaken this scent as fear. He knew better now. The Nestling might have been calm on the outside, but there was no getting it wrong now. 

 

Julio was having an anxiety attack.

 

He opened his mouth but Julio cut him off before he could even make a sound. 

 

“I..I think I’ve been having a panic attack all day, I don’t know why,  and I don’t wanna talk to Nico right now cause I need it to be quiet and she’s not quiet, she’ll just chatter and you’re quiet, can I stay in here with you, I don't wanna be alone but I need quiet. Please.”

 

It took Rudra several seconds to run everything the older Nestling had blurted out, long enough that the boy began to curl in on himself, his shoulders rising almost to his ear and his hands clutching his book to his chest in an increasingly white-knuckled grip. But Rudra’s decision was an easy one. 

 

“Of course you may stay Nestling. It is no hardship at all to keep you company.”

 

Nero may have warned Rudra and his brother not to try and help the Nestlings on their own if Julio had a panic attack, but he was hardly going to refuse the child’s own request. It would have been cruel to reward his bravery with rejection, especially since he had made his own case against going to Nico and for coming to Rudra instead. He was certain that the Hunter would understand.

 

Julio took a deep breath, uncurling slightly, though he maintained his death grip on his book. Rudra sat on the carpet, facing the bay window and the view of the forest, but there was an old, massive, plush sofa right in the middle of the room several feet behind him. He crossed the room quickly, climbing onto it and curling up against one of the arms, pulling his legs up to his chest.

 

Rudra watched him silently for a long while, the boy gradually unfolding from his closed off position as the light from the window slowly turned from blue to orange, the only sounds the boy’s breathing and the turning of pages from his book. Just as slowly, the scent of panic began to fade from the air, leaving only the nestling’s normal scent, intermixed with the ever-present scent of the old books the room had been made for, the racing heartbeat slowing to normal as well. When it got dark enough to require lights, Julio broke the silence.

 

“Rudra…. Would you… mind…”

 

He trailed off quickly, but his glance at the open expanse of the sofa cushions beside him got his meaning across just fine. Rudra nodded and rose slowly, taking several moments to stretch out his spine, before padding over to the couch, tapping the base of the tall lamp beside it to turn it on. He climbed up and settled down to join the boy, nose centimeters from Julio’s thigh. 

 

“I confess, I am curious about your book, little one. Perhaps you would read it to me?”

 

Julio agreed enthusiastically, quickly turning back to the beginning of his book and starting to read. 

 

He was still reading when Nico came to find him for dinner.

  
  
  



	5. Agni's Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agni thinks about how things have changed.

Agni and his brother had lived in Nero and Kyrie’s house for several months now, and life had changed greatly in that time. It was a very different life they had now compared to the one they’d had at Devil May Cry with Master Dante, and a far cry from Temen-Ni-Gru. Agni would be lying if he said that he didn’t find the entire situation to be a major improvement in every way. When he and Rudra had left their post in Temen-Ni-Gru with Master Dante all those years ago, they had not expected to end up trading their lonely boring prison for another. For all that they were not alone anymore (with the exception of Master Dante, the company at Devil May Cry was excellent, and Agni truly couldn’t fault the Half-Devil for not knowing how to deal with them.), once they had entered the Devil May Cry office as Master Dante’s Devil Arms, they did not leave the building for  _ years _ .

 

The status quo was violently shattered with the arrival of Master Dante’s Nestling, Nero. Well, perhaps the Nestling was his brother’s, but there was little doubt that Nestling Nero was of the line of Sparda, for all that he had more human blood than their master. It was not a turn of events they had ever expected, but considering how things would turn out, they would never complain. Nero had been a welcome change of pace from years of only the other Devil Arms and Trish for conversation partners, and while he often couldn’t find the words to answer the curious Nestling’s questions (that was Rudra’s job. He was  _ very _ good at explaining things to people and Agni had always had problems getting thoughts to come out of his mouth the way he wanted them to.), it was Agni’s equally insatiable curiosity that maintained an equal exchange of information between the three.  

 

And so they had fallen into a pattern of visits every month or so, as the Nestling took up the Devil May Cry name and turned his branch into a mobile business and came to check in with Master Dante periodically for training. Until the day Nero had asked them the question that had led to all of this change. The offer that had resulted in Agni laying in a warm living room, in front of a roaring fireplace with a young Human Nestling sleeping upon his back, Nestling Nero’s Mate Kyrie hard at work at the desk in the corner on her own business. This new home where they were not just a pair of weapons that reminded their master of painful memories, hanging uselessly on a wall. Here they were part of a family, Devil Arm status almost an afterthought. 

 

Kyle beamed brightly whenever he caught sight of Agni and his brother, his signs often so fast in his excitement that they had to ask him to slow down and repeat himself nearly every time he signed. For all that the Nestling spoke no words, he was nowhere near silent. And the energy he had! If Agni could not very clearly smell that Kyle was entirely human, he would have thought the little one was part Devil with how much it took to truly tire the boy out.

 

Julio no longer tensed the moment he saw them now, though he still tended to move cautiously around them. They could hardly begrudge the Nestling this, however; being cautious often meant staying alive longer. Agni and his brother were old, and patience was something they’d learned well, but that did not stop them from eagerly looking forward to the day Julio was completely comfortable with them. And while his brother would likely not admit to it in front of the Nestling, Agni knew his brother enjoyed the time he spent listening to the Nestling read.

Miss Nico was as inquisitive as Nero had been when he had first begun asking them questions about Demons and Devils. Not a day had passed that she had not had some sort of question for them, most often about different species, but also about what hell itself was like. And while Rudra might be better at explaining Demonic concepts, Agni had memorized the strengths and weaknesses of every kind of demon he and his brother had ever fought, so they both ended up answering her questions on a regular basis. But it wasn’t just information with the inventor; Just a week ago, Rudra had overheard her muttering about plans for some sort of armor for them. It wasn’t something they truly needed, being plenty armored already, but she had proven to have a knack for spotting gaps in fighting styles and developing items to fill them. Perhaps she had seen one in their’s when they had gone out with Nestling Nero last month. 

 

Miss Kyrie let them watch her cook, her patience with their questions (cooking related or otherwise) unceasing. She’d taken them aside not two days after their arrival and begun teaching them Sign Language, declaring firmly that no member of her family would be unable to understand the rest. She spoke to them about current politics, a favored subject for her, and had yet to refuse their quiet company as she worked on ‘accounting’ books for her clients around the island, though neither of them really understood the concept. She sang as she worked more often than not, and both brothers agreed that it was the best sound they’d ever heard.

 

No longer were they absent from battles, accompanying Nestling Nero on numerous missions since they’d arrived. They had spent days in the woods behind the house learning to work with him, as hounds and as blades, so that they fought together seamlessly, as they’d never been able to with Dante. He asked for their knowledge of demons, their advice on fighting and they gave it. He bantered with them, and never asked for their silence. 

 

Nestling Nero had found himself such a wonderful set of packmates and Agni was utterly grateful that the young Hunter had invited them into it, and to the rest of them for welcoming them in.

 

They owed this human Pack a great deal, and Agni, for one, looked forward to repaying their kindness as many times over as he could. Rudra would likely agree. 

 

This was his home now. He and Rudra would protect it, and all who lived within, with everything that they had.

 

Their new pack was more than worth it.


End file.
